It is notable that the world’s perfect happiness, and the deepest sorrow of all earthly history, is forever associated with gardens; Eden, Gethsemane, and the Garden Tomb near Calvary.

WHERE THERE WAS A GARDEN:

John 18:1. “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.”

After Jesus’ personal prayer (John 17), in which He interceded for His disciples and prayed for their joy and courage in the hours and years that would follow, the small band of men departed. Leaving Jerusalem through one of the eastern gates of the city, crossing the Kidron Brook; they entered a small garden called Gethsemane. A small stream runs along on the east of Jerusalem till it is joined by the water of the pool of Siloam, and the water that flows down on the west side of the city through the valley of Jehoshaphat. Over this brook David passed when he fled from Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:23. It is often mentioned in the Old Testament.

Here, in Gethsemane, was the greatest agony in history, as in Eden was the greatest happiness. We can picture the darkness—the figure prostrate on the ground—the bloody sweat—the approaching noise and tumult—the glare of torches—the flash of Peter’s sword—the kiss of Judas the base betrayer—the binding and leading away of the Savior. Such are the scenes that greet us from the Garden. All of this was brought on by another scene played out in the first garden (Gethsemane) many centuries earlier. Eve taking and eating of the forbidden fruit along with Adam which brought sin and shame upon the human race, and hiding from their creator, and then being expelled forever from their garden paradise.

Then the scene from another garden took place three days later, where the tomb of Jesus was located. It is resurrection morning, and it is still early, and into the garden where the body of Jesus was laid came Mary Magdalene and Peter and John, looking and searching. For whom are they searching? “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” They were searching for the Master whom Adam and Eve in paradise had shunned and hidden from, but in this garden, on this day, men and women came hurrying, to seek him. Seek Him Today.

Jesus’ foremost disciple sought to defend Him in the hour of betrayal and arrest.

PETER PUT UP YOUR SWORD:

John 18:10, “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 11. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”

Simon Peter simply could not stand around and do nothing. Resorting to the only means available to him, he drew his sword and cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant, a man named Malchus. Peter took advantage of this moment in which the entire entourage seemed paralyzed by Jesus’ boldness. Luke’s gospel tells us that Jesus healed this man’s ear (Luke 22:51). Everything that we read in the Gospels seems contrary to the average human experience. Perhaps that is why we readily accept Peter with all of his flaws. We understand his humanity, the contradictions and failures, because no matter how many reminders we are given we, too, are slow to grasp what is being said.

Jesus instructed them along the way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover: “We’re going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to Gentiles. They will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him. But after three days he will come back to life” (Mark 10:33-34).

Like Peter, we hear these words but fail to fathom how anyone could so resolutely and willingly move toward certain death. Our natural instinct is to run the opposite direction to escape pain, suffering, and death, especially when punishment is not ours, but Jesus did not do this. Perhaps we also, fail to grasp the great love that He had for us. Everything that He did proved unequivocally that He possessed qualities not found in mortal man. He rather provided abundant evidence that He was the Son of God. We only dimly perceive His love, peace, and joy as He walked inexorably toward His trial and His execution to redeem His people. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

WHEN THE COCK CROWS:

John 18:25.“And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. 26. One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? 27. Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.”

Believing he was in danger of an outcome similar to his master, Peter again denied that he knew Jesus. Then came the dreaded sound—the crowing of the rooster! Peter then had to deal with an even greater fear—the fear that he had lost himself. Having sworn allegiance to Jesus even to death, he now had denied the one to whom he had made such an unswerving promise. When we look at ourselves in the mirror of our souls, whom do we find? Is that Peter I see? Within the space of a few short hours, Peter had changed his tune. He had completely reversed his opinion, a perfect example of the way most of us are.

Oh, yes, we see Peter in that mirror! We, too, have made our promises and then broken them. We, too, have sworn our allegiance to Him and then served the god of fear that rules our human existence. We, too, have pledged our undying faith and then squandered such empty promises with our faithlessness. Sadly, many of us lack the one thing that Peter did have when he realized what he had done—remorse: “Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.’ Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly.” In that one remorseful outpouring of a broken spirit, Peter humbled himself again. More importantly, he was again reconciled to his Lord.

May the Lord grant us a heart that acknowledges our shortcomings, denials, and hypocrisies. May the Lord grant us hearts that will grieve and eyes that will shed the bitter tears of our remorse. May the Lord grant us His boundless mercy and reconcile our relationship to Him.

In a time when so many families have purposely or ignorantly forgotten their aging parents and grandparents, I believe with all my heart that as believers age they also need to know that they still have a very special and vital role to play in the family of God and that the family of God needs to allow them the privilege of having a part.

AGED MEN:

Titus 2:1 “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.”

Like the books of 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus is a book written to encourage and instruct a young pastor during the early years of the Church age. Paul used this book to outline the various ways that different age groups of people are to serve one another and the Lord in the local church setting. These truths were not just for Titus’ time but are also just as important today. Let’s look at what the Word of God says in Titus 2 and let’s prayerfully approach the subject so that the Holy Spirit of God can have his way in each of our hearts and lives.

We want to direct our thoughts first toward the aged men in our congregations. I will let you decide who I am speaking about, for medical science tells us that our bodies start their inevitable downward progression at the age of 35 or there about, so you see this could take in many of the men who ordinarily would not expect it. Next we will direct our thoughts to the aged women that this text also speaks of. The truths we are going to examine in the next few studies are clearly associated with the church body of believers, but that is family as well, so the truths can also be transferred to the blood family.

Aged brothers and sisters in Christ you should never ever feel or believe that your age in earth years makes you not as valuable to the Lord, the church, and especially to your family. Those years of experience are what the Lord can use in a wonderful and mighty way. Jacob was 79 when he left home to go to his uncle Laban’s and began a family which would become the nation of Israel. Moses was 80 when God appeared to him in a burning bush and sent him to deliver Israel out of Egypt. Noah was 500 when God told him to build and ark to save his family. Abraham was 75 when God called him to leave his country and go to the country that would become the home to God’s chosen people and 100 when Isaac was born.

Titus was to remind these aged, grey-haired men that they were Christian men now and had a responsibility before Christ, the younger men, their wife, the children, and the church, to not allow themselves to act in uncontrolled ways.

OLDER MEN SHOULD BE SOBER:

Titus 2:2. “That the aged men be sober,..”

This word, sober, is used in two ways. First, it is used of men who are sober in contrast to being drunk with wine. When alcohol or drug is ingested, the body will respond accordingly. Paul was clear on what happens when men allow alcoholic drinks to enter their body.

It certainly is a sad situation when an older man who knows the Lord as his Savior, feels constrained because of the circumstances of life, a habit, or whatever to turn to the bottle to drown his problems. I do believe we all understand that this is not God’s way to deal with the hard times of life. Rather, he should take it to the Lord in prayer.

Second, it is used by analogy of those who are sober-minded about life in general. Essentially, they are clearheaded, they have a balanced perspective on matters of life, they view things as they really are - not better than they are or worse than they are. The older Christian man recognizes both his God-given strengths and his areas of weakness in which to improve with God’s help. Some translations of the scriptures have rendered this word “sober” as temperate which brings out the idea of a person who is balanced and under control at all times.

Older men, by this time in your life you have seen many things happen, you’ve had many years to grow close to your Lord, and simply many years to know what life is all about. Let the closing years of your life be known by God and all those around you as being well-balanced and sound. Since it is to the elderly men that many turn to for advice in regard to all matters, it is imperative that these men remain strong and sure in their daily walk with the Lord and not allow themselves to slip as they enter the waning years of their life.

The older Christian man should not be frivolous in his actions but one who is respectable.

OLDER MEN SHOULD BE GRAVE (REVERED):

Titus 2:2. “That the aged men be sober, grave,..”

This term (grave) does not imply that it is wrong to have an appropriate sense of humor when we get older. An older man who can still laugh and help others to laugh at the trials of life is certainly going to look at life through eyes and heart that enjoys what God is doing. But rather, this term (grave) means one who is valuable, one who is venerated because of their character. This is a man who is worthy of respect because of his bearing of character. The older Christian man should not be frivolous in his actions but one who is respectable.

This respect towards one’s character simply does not come with age, though those who are younger ought to show respect toward those who are older than themselves and who love the Lord. No, this respect comes because this older man has walked with His Lord faithfully for many years and has taken on many of the traits of His Lord through the years of spiritual grow and maturity. When this is true, this man deserves the respect and honor due to him by other believers. He ought to be venerated for what he brings to his family and to his church. These are the spiritual giants who help their local church through difficult times for they have been there before and learned how to go through that time. They have the experience of years behind them and have proven true to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Such men deserve high esteem for what the Lord has done in their life. Let us show respect and veneration for those men in the Body of Christ and in our local church who have faithfully walked with their Lord and exhibit the sure signs of spiritual maturity in the fact that they are “grave”.

Young men, take heed to this passage of scripture for if God tarries His coming, and blesses us with long life, we too, and very soon, will be counted among the aged men and what kind of experience will we bring with us when those days arrive? Will we be just as weak and inexperienced spiritually then, as we were when we first were saved? Will there be many experiences which could have been avoided had we only obeyed the scriptures faithfully?

The temperate man will not need others to help him remain disciplined, he will have learned to self-discipline himself.

OLDER MEN SHOULD BE TEMPERATE (SELF-DISCIPLINED):

Titus 2:2. “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate,..”

This word (temperate) carries the meaning of being “of sound mind,” “self-controlled,” “self-disciplined.” He is a man who trained himself with God’s help to temper his natural desires and instincts to sin and not allow the flesh to have its way. In Luke 8:35 from the story of the Demoniac of the Gadarenes we have this statement after Jesus cast the demons out and the man was healed spiritually, he was “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind:”

The words “in his right mind” is a translation of this same Greek word that is translated “temperate” here in Titus 2:2. This man was in “his right mind” for the demons had been cast out and he had been renewed by the Word of God. Every person who has been saved by the power of God can rightfully be said to be in “their right mind” for before salvation a wrong and depraved mind was all that existed.

Now, after we become a Christian, the “mind of Christ” is to have full sway in our hearts and lives. Is it not interesting to see the opposites this verse gives to us. When the man was unclothed he was considered out of his mind, but when he was clothed (because he had been transformed) he is in his “right mind.” The world would have us believe that wearing less clothing is ok and normal, but God’s Word says just the opposite.

Ages men, are you looking upon all things with the values and priorities of God Himself? The temperate man will not need others to help him remain disciplined, he will have learned to self-discipline himself. This should be a clear sign of age and one which our families need, and which our church family needs.

If the truth is not believed and adamantly held to, error will reign in your life and your light will go out.

AGED MEN SHOULD BE SOUND (HEALTHY) IN FAITH:

Titus 2:2. “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith,..”

The text says “sound” in faith. The word “sound” means healthy. Just as we say that somebody’s body is sound, that it is healthy, so too here we use the word sound to describe a healthy Christian. As we age physically we begin to find out that we are not as healthy as we once were. We begin to feel the aches and pains of age, but when it comes to spiritual matters there is no such thing as spiritual arthritis coming on naturally. It is true that some Christian men appear to be afflicted with this unnatural malady for they have not been growing in the Lord through the years. Men, how sound are you in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you spiritually healthy or unhealthy?

Consider the next generation of believers in your family and in your church that need a “sound” example of Godliness lived out before them. Do your grandchildren consider you a Godly grandfather, or do they have no idea at all where you stand spiritually? Sadly, a lack of spiritual health in old age is often a sign of a lack of spiritual health while one’s children were growing up, so there is also a lacking in their families as well because Dad, in earlier years, did not faithfully walk with the Lord. If you are not feeding yourself daily, and exercising yourself in spiritual service, chances are you have grown weak and flabby in the spiritual sense. From what the text says here in Titus 2:2, this is not the Lord’s will for older Christian men.

Older men, do not come to the place of thinking that because you are older and retired, that you can retire from the faith and defending the faith. There is no retirement from doing what is right in God’s Word. We are to do right until we die or the Lord returns. God is not pleased nor honored when older men in the Lord who are to know better, stop serving the Lord and defending the faith. It was absolutely vital that these older men who knew the Lord remain rock solid in their commitment and defense of the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever there was a time for Christian men and women, young or old to be sound in the faithit is today.

Some of the most loving and beautiful saints are the senior saints who have grown in the Lord for years and are totally sure of their place in Christ and serving others.

OLDER MEN ARE TO BE SOUND IN CHARITY:

Titus 2:2. “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity,”

Paul is obviously referring to God’s love which is also the first fruit of the Spirit in the list found in Galatians 5:22, 23. In Ephesians 5:1, 2 we have this same kind of love spelled out for us so that no one is left with any doubts as to what God means. Ephesians 5:1. “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.” Love is a choice of the will, “and walk in love.” This is a command that ought to be followed, but it is still an act of the will to obey God’s Word.

This is the kind of love that ought to be demonstrated by the elder men of the faith. Often younger people turn away from older people because they have fallen into a state of ugliness, and hatefulness and often bitterness. Rather than building up younger men in the faith, these older Christians find fault with everything that they do, are unchangeable in practical matters, and discourage growth, etc.

Though there are changes that take place in our bodies as we grow older, it is pretty well established that an older person who is unloving was also a younger person who was unloving. Just because one is older doesn’t mean they are predisposed to being unloving.

Some of the most loving and beautiful saints are the senior saints who have grown in the Lord for years and are totally sure of their place in Christ and serving others. Thank the Lord, with His help; changes can be made to one’s character for the good of Christ and the Church.

Aged men of God - lift up your heads and stand firm for your Savior in obeying the Word of God and being faithful unto Him. Your family needs this, your grandchildren and great grandchildren need this, and your church family needs this. Don’t retire from God’s Work.

OLDER MEN ARE TO BE SOUND IN PATIENCE:

Titus 2:2. “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.”

It speaks of the ability to remain faithful to a given task or lifestyle even under difficult circumstances. We normally think of patience as having a calm attitude under difficult circumstances and that is true. That thought is here as well, but that calmness and clarity of thought causes these saints to hold their ground while others fall away during difficult times.

Another word that we could use here is the word “endurance.” Aged men, I have already said some things in this message about this issue, but this word brings it out again, God’s Word instructs you, and especially you, to endure faithfully for your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ even when other, weaker saints are calling it quits. No one who loves the Lord ought to be “signing out” on the cause of Christ when things do not work out the way we thought they should.

Aged men, your testimony before the whole body of Christ when death comes into your family, when sickness strikes, when financial distresses arise, when church disputes arise, is going to be what others are going to look at and often copy in their own lives. You have a very important and vital part to play in your family’s spiritual well-being, and especially that of your spiritual family at church. These are badges of honor that God gives to those who remain faithful to Him and serve Him for many years.

Patience: For while manhood has to work, age at eventide of life has to wait, sometimes in pain or in weakness. Still “they serve” while they wait, by prayer and quiet submission to the great will the Lord's will. They are examples to the flock.

Paul continues his exhortation to the elderly by placing the aged (older) women along-side the aged men (older) as teachers and examples to the younger generation.

SOUND DOCTRINE FOR THE AGED (OLDER) WOMEN:

Titus 2:3. “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;”

As women had attained through Christianity a position of equality besides man as leaders and teachers, it was to remind her that her position involved serious responsibilities. Paul emphasizes the duties of the aged women:

1. “Be in behaviour as becometh holiness,” it is an appeal to that which is lady-like and proper in the Christian character. 1 Timothy 2:10. “But (which becometh women professing Godliness) with good works.” Their holy calling should manifest itself in their character, dress, speech, silence, and, above all, “in a meek and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4). Holiness embraces far more than the way the Christian woman (or man) dresses or fixes their hair, even though that plays an essential part.

2. “Not false accusers.” True women. The second thing on Paul’s list of duties for the aged (older) women is not to become slanderers of others, or accusing falsely. The aged (older) Christian women are not to become slanderers, because it separates friends, causes deadly wounds in character, brings dishonor to the Gospel, and causes discord in the church.

3. “Not given to much wine.” Temperate women. Not to be enslaved to wine. It was a demand that they should give up the slavish addictedness to wine so common in society. The old are easily addicted to wine and use it as a crutch, or solace in old age. We see how the Gospel purifies the habits and practices of society.

4. “Teachers of good things;” Useful women. Every aged (older) women has a large ministry to fulfill when she remembers how large is the category of "good things." with a wealth of experience (experience is the best teacher), and the wealth of knowledge gained from experience, Paul says use this knowledge to teach others the good way.The young women are regarded as under the instruction and guidance of the aged (older) women.

The younger women were to be schooled (to teach, to disciple) to their duties in a wise manner.

SOUND DOCTRINE FOR YOUNGER WOMEN:

Titus 2:4. “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

The young women are regarded as under the instruction and guidance of the aged (older) women. In Ephesus Timothy was exhorted to teach the younger women (1 Timothy 5), but it is probable that the state of the Cretans community required that the instructions of Titus should be supplemented by the practical and continuous guidance of the elderly women.

1. "To love their husbands:" They were to be instructed to be lovers of their own husbands. The wife will find in this love the source of her strength, the husband the solace and support for his care and the children the guarantee for their happiness. A loving wife is a blessing to her husband, she brings him honor, anchors his confidence, and earns his praises.

2. “To love their children.” A mother's love is a blessing to the human race. It should be a matter of instinct. So, why would Paul feel compelled to tell Titus to have the young women taught to love their children? This is the only passage in the Bible that tells mothers to love their children. The answer can be found in the first chapter of Titus. Titus 1:12. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are always liars, evil beasts (have a savage nature), slow bellies (laziness, gluttonous).

Christianity was born in an age of barbarism and idolatry. An age when human life and freedom had little value. Many wives of that day had no more value to husbands than their slaves. And, women in general lived in much degraded conditions. Children born into these homes many times were unwanted and neglected simply because there was no natural love displayed in the home. Some were even offered in sacrifice to the idol gods of the people. This very fact has been proven in human cultures all over the ancient world.

Christianity came to offer all classes of the human race, women, children, slaves, the battered, and the neglected, a better life. It would take many centuries for many of these to see the results of what Jesus envisioned for them. The Jewish race was the first to raise the standard for women. But Christianity has done more for the human race than all other religions combined. It has taught people to be Christ-like (Christians).

YOUNGER WOMEN ARE TO LOVE THEIR CHILDREN:

Titus 2:4. “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

As women and slaves (Titus 2:9-10) came into the Church they had to be taught what Christ expected of them as Christians. To bear his name (Christian, or Christ-like), they were to live like him. Paul felt that the Gospel working in the home would do more to change people than any other thing. Christianity must work in our homes to be effective. Mankind requires training. It needs physical training, intellectual training, and, above all, spiritual training, the training of the soul into a higher life, and this must begin in the home.

That is the reason that Paul instructed Titus to tell the aged women to teach the young women to love their husbands and children that they also may teach their children, and bring them up in “The nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). This is more than a natural love, it is a Christian love, taking care of their souls as well as their bodies.

The mother was the teacher but God was the author of these things. Such truths, understood through faithful, loving, training, works for the up-building of a true religious character. Children should be made to realize in their early years that these were divine truths, the revelation of God, having divine authority. The reason is given in Titus 2:5. “… That the word of God be not blasphemed.” Failure of these duties in the home would be greatly to the reproach of Christianity.

Titus 2:4. “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

“To be discreet:” (1.) Of a sound mind, sane, in one's senses, sensible, (2.) Curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate. That calm quietude of heart and mind which is not intoxicated by vanity, or carried away with the sensationalism of pleasure.” (Strong’s)

Generally, the woman of the house sets the atmosphere of the home. It is her Christian duty to help keep contentious feeling under control, both her own and those of her household. Proverbs 21:9. “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” {a brawling...: Heb. A woman of contentions} Proverbs 14:1. “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” Proverbs 19:14. “House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.”

Teach the young women purity of the body, freedom from obscenity in language and life. Nothing in society is more beautiful than a thoroughly chaste woman--chaste in language, chaste in dress, chaste in movement; and nothing is more disgusting than the reverse--a woman unclean in appearance, in dress, in language, in manners.

Purity makes queenly women; the beauty of womanhood is chastity. Paul is dealing in moral issue mostly in this command. “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10). “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones” (Proverbs 12:4)“And the angel came in unto her, and said, hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (highly or, graciously accepted) (Luke 1:28).

If every offense against us involves a greater offense against God, and if God forgives the offender, who are we to withhold forgiveness from those who have committed an offence against us? It is our duty to be reconciled.

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION:

2 Corinthians 5:18. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.;”

RECONCILE = (to reestablish a close relationship) Vengeance is popular today; forgiveness is not. Retaliation is often portrayed as a virtue reflecting healthy self-esteem. It is heralded as an inalienable right of personal freedom. Vengeance is evidence of macho strength. Our society is drunk on the grapes of human wrath. Road-rage, disgruntled employee rampages, drive-by shootings, and other crimes of vengeance are the hallmarks of this generation. No wonder so many people are wracked with guilt, anger, depression, and other destructive emotions.

God is the consummate forgiver. And we depend every day on His ongoing forgiveness for our sins. The least we can do is emulate His forgiveness in our dealings with one another.

Yet there is a natural, sinful tendency for all of us to minimize our own sins and magnify our blame of others—to treat ourselves with mercy and demand retribution against others. If we would only learn to be more repulsed by our own sin than we are at the wrongs others commit against us, we would be well on the road to spiritual health. On the one hand, we urgently need forgiveness. On the other, we desperately need to forgive.

Without God’s forgiveness we would have no hope whatsoever. And when we learn to forgive others, a host of life’s difficulties suddenly are settled. Forgiveness, we discover, is the starting point for resolving life’s most troubling problems.

Pessimism is a sin, and those who yield to it cripple themselves for the battle of light over darkness.

THE DANGERS OF PESSIMISM:

Psalms 116:11 “I said in my haste, all men are liars.”

Swindled, betrayed, persecuted, David, in a sudden outburst of emotion and contemptuous speech and behavior in his rage insulted the human race. David himself was wrong when he said, “All men are liars.” He apologizes and says he was unusually provoked, and that he was hasty when he hurled such universal denunciations. It was in his case only a momentary triumph of pessimism. Yet there are many who never extract themselves from that pit. They declare that all men are liars, scoundrels, thieves, libertines. They would rather believe evil than good. They would like to be on a committee to find something wrong.

Pessimism says of the Church, “The majority of members are hypocrites.” “Nobody is living right.” “The Church will fail in Her cause.” We excuse David of the text for his momentary lapse into distrust and pessimism, because he apologizes for it. I take the risk of saying that the majority of people in the Church are doing the best they can. If the theory of the pessimist was accurate, society would long ago have gone to pieces, and civilization would have been submerged with barbarism, and the wheel of the centuries would have turned back to the dark ages.

I read John’s picture in Revelation of triumph, of white horse cavalry, and tears being wiped away, trumpets blown, saints redeemed. While there are ten thousand things we do not like, I have not seen in all my years, any reason to lose hope in the triumph of the cause of Christ. The Kingdom is coming; the Church is preparing to put on bridal array. “Joy to the world, the Lord is coming.”

This well-trained and expert student, who had sat at the feet of Gamaliel, and who was one of his most alert and progressive disciples, goes up to Jerusalem to sit at the feet of another teacher, the fisherman Peter from the Galilean lake.

SITTING AT THE FEET OF THE APOSTLE PETER:

Galatians 1:18. “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.”

We have recorded for us a moment in time that I feel the Apostle Paul cherished. Fifteen days sitting at the feet of the one to whom Jesus gave the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, the Apostle Peter. Here we have one of the most learned men the world has ever known, sitting to learn from one who was once called “ignorant and unlearned” (Acts 4:13), what can he learn from him? What was the subject of their conversation? I feel that hour after hour they sat and talked about one thing, Jesus of Nazareth. The pupil of Gamaliel wanted to hear from the lips of the fisherman all that his memory could recall and all that tongue could tell of those three eventful years he had spent with the Lord Jesus.

Long into the night they would sit and talk; long after everyone had gone home, and the sounds in the streets were stilled! The pupil could never get enough of the story, and the teller of the story never grew tired in its recital, and many times, in those crowded fifteen days, the dawn looked in through the lattice and found these sleepless men still busied in the story of their Lord. Peter would lead the eager and reverent steps of his new kinsman all the way across the years—the call on the lake shore that made him a disciple, the strange revealing miracles on the lake, the Sermon on the Mount, the private communions with the twelve when the crowd had gone away, the awful and overwhelming splendor of the transfigured Presence on the Mount: then in hushed and broken voice, amid tears, Peter would tell of Gethsemane, of the betrayal, of the scene among the servants in the hall, of his own denial, of his Master’s broken-hearted look at him, of the scourge and the crown of thorns, and the ribaldry and agonies of Calvary; and then the fisherman-teacher would recover his tone and feelings again as he related the wonders of the Resurrection, and all the gracious surprises of those altogether surprising forty days, until this pupil of Gamaliel, this once-while persecutor of the Saviour, could scarcely tell whether he was in the body or out of it! Those fifteen days with Peter left marks upon the mind and soul of Paul which time could not erase.

It must have been when Paul visited with Peter (Galatians 1:18) that he was introduced to James as the Lord’s brother.

THE LORD’S BROTHER:

Galatians 1:19 “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.

James 1:1 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,”

This particular James was the son of Joseph and Mary, and grew up in the home of the carpenter in Nazareth, and had, no doubt, played among the shavings in the little carpenter shop with Jesus. He was the brother of the Lord. We do know that when Jesus visited Nazareth in the early part of His ministry that His brothers and sisters were still at home (Mark 3). James had not yet joined his Brother and His group of followers. When he became a dedicated follower seems to be after the resurrection when Jesus made a special appearance to him (1 Corinthians 15:7).

Surely James could never have heard himself called by this name without feeling the great honor which was done him, and without great humility. We see this in the way he introduces himself, “a servant,” in his writing, contrasted to how Paul introduced him. He must often have felt unworthy of it when he remembered, with sorrow, that he had held back when, even strangers were giving their love and allegiance to his Brother, and had not been the first to become His true and loyal disciple.

I think any one of us who should hear himself called the brother of Jesus, and surely every Christian man and woman who is giving loyal service to Jesus has a right to be so called, must be filled with humility at such an honor. “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother” (Mark 3:35). Now let us, every Christian, think of ourselves as bearing this title. How should I live, who am to stand before the world as the Lord’s brother, or the Lord’s sister?

Now I want to ask very earnestly, how much must it have meant to James himself, in his own watchfulness over his own conduct and spirit and life, to be constantly regarded and continually presented to strangers as the brother of Jesus Christ? In James’ case, it involved the good name of the family, the reputation and standing of everything that was dear to his heart. Why should it not be so with us? We who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Surely if our Lord is not ashamed of us, and is willing to call us brethren and to trust His good name in our keeping, we ought to accept this with humility and a deep holy joy.

The preciousness of the kingdom of heaven is set forth by two emblems: a treasure and a pearl of great price.

THE TREASURE AND THE PEARL:

Matthew 13:44. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45.Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

We will deal with the treasure first. In the days when these parables were uttered by Jesus, men often hid their treasure, some because of sudden invasions by foreign powers, some would hid it to evade the extortionate publicans who taxed every man according to the wealth he was supposed to possess. Then the owners of the treasure might be killed or deported and the hidden treasures would be lost. Jesus speaks as though a man walking through the area or perhaps a laborer digging in the field stumbled across the hidden catch of gold and silver coins and with his heart pounding covers it and immediately sets out to raise enough money to buy the whole field. “And for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

Next we have “a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” In this case the man was looking for what he found, whereas the first man found something he was not looking for. In both cases Jesus emphasized the great value of what they had found. But neither the treasure nor the pearl became the man’s own till he had sacrificed all other things to obtain it. “And for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

Without doubt the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure anyone has ever found; it is pearl of “great price.” It is worth every sacrifice we have to make to obtain it. No one else can make this sacrifice for us. It may be a cherished companionship, or a some amusement, or a habit long indulged in, or a prejudice, or a besetting sin; but in any or all of these it is really the giving up of self-will which actually counts. This is sometimes so painful that the Apostle Paul rightfully called it a Crucifixion. Yet the end result is “Joy unspeakable, and full of glory.”

Our Lord has come from heaven to earth in order to establish a new kingdom. He has come into the midst of the kingdoms of this world to call out of them a people unto Himself and form them into a new kingdom.

THE STRAIT GATE AND NARROW WAY:

Matthew 7:13. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

In these two verses the Lord has finished His sermon. From here on to the end of the chapter He begins to apply it, urging His listeners to practice it and implement it in their daily lives. Jesus wanted to make it plain and clear that this kingdom which He would establish was different from any other kingdom the world had ever known. It would be called THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. His people must realize this kingdom was something unique, something separate. In the Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7) Jesus gives a description of it.

He gives a description of those who would belong to this kingdom, they would be called Christians. They would be poor in spirit, they would be meek, they would be pure in heart, they would be merciful, they would be peacemakers. He tells them that because they are that kind of person and belong to His kingdom that the world would not like them, in fact persecute them. Nevertheless they are not to segregate themselves from the world, become Monks or Hermits, but they are to remain in society as “Salt” and “Light.” Otherwise society will rot and dwell in gross darkness. In fact He tells them that their lives are to be better that the most religious people the world had ever known, the Scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus tells them, How to do their alms giving, How to fast, How to pray, He tells them how they are to treat their fellow men in great detail. Yet listening to so great a sermon in itself was not enough. He asks now, “What are we going to do about it? Are we going to be content to just fold our arms, like so many others, and say “what a marvelous sermon?” Do we say, “It has the grandest conception of life and living that mankind has ever known, Such exalted morality, Such wonderful uplift, That is the ideal life that all mankind ought to live.” Jesus does not want us to praise the SERMON ON THE MOUNT, but live it. Live it. Live It, Live it.

Some seem to think to be a Christian is little different from being non-Christian. Some think of Christianity as not narrow, but attractive, exciting, and that you come in crowds.

TWO GATES, ONE LEADS TO LIFE EVERLASTING, THE OTHER LEADS TO DESTRUCTION:

Matthew 7:13.“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

In these verses Jesus talks about narrowness. It’s a narrow life we must live, A narrow gate we must enter, A narrow way that we must walk. Here we are walking along and we come upon two gates confronting us. The one on the left is very wide and broad and a great crowd of people are entering. On the other hand there is a very narrow gate which will allow only one person to enter at a time. The wide gate leads to a broad way, and a great crowd is surging along it. The narrow way is not only narrow at the gate but continues to be narrow, and only a few are walking on it.

The first thing we should notice is the way is narrow at the very beginning. Not that it becomes narrower and narrower, but it is narrow at the beginning. SOME THINGS MUST BE LEFT BEHIND AT THE GATE: The first thing we leave behind is worldliness. We leave behind the crowd; we leave behind the way of the world. You first must separate from the crowd, sometimes you go against the crowd; go in the opposite direction of it to get out of it.

Make a break with tradition, customs, and habits, which is difficult. Almost everybody wants to conform to the norms of society, yet we must extract ourselves from this crowd and become a individual person. We go through the turnstile one by one. Every Person becomes a responsible person to God. The gate is narrow; it brings us face to face with God. We must begin to live the SERMON ON THE MOUNT:

The Sermon Says, “Resist not evil,” “Turn the other cheek,” “Go the second mile, Love your enemies, Bless them that curse you, Do good to them that hate you, and Pray for them, that despitefully uses you and persecute you.” Is it any wonder that Jesus said, “And few there be that find it?” (Matthew 7:14b).

The Scriptures (Words From God) reveal the heavenly blessings in store, and thus supply the warp and woof out of which the web of comfort is woven. Poor indeed would man be if there were no such word to rouse the heart’s ease when his brow is wrung in anguish and distress. Sad indeed the day God is silent.

THE WORST OF ALL FAMINES:

Amos 8:11. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”

“Not a hungering for bread, nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of Jehovah.” This is a new form of disaster, and one that is especially severe. It is in the spiritual sphere. Jesus Says, “Fear not them which kill the body.” It is the least part of us. Whether it live or die, enjoy or suffer, is a question involving trivial interests, and these during a limited period. The soul is the man, and its well being, next to God’s glory, the great interest. For the soul’s injury, there is no compensation, for its loss no parallel. When the soul suffers, the worst has happened.

Not long after this prophecy given to Amos, God shut the heavens and spoke not for 400 years, from the days of Malachi till the coming of the angel to Mary in Matthew. Then the Living Word came and brought Light once again to the world. To lose the Word from God is the loss of a necessity of spiritual life. The deepest need of humanity is a communication from God. “This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God,” Hence the Words which God speaks is the Words of life. Apart from it spiritual life is impossible. The Word of the Lord is the revelation of spiritual things. The Word of the Lord is the source of spiritual power.

When God Lets Us Alone: When sin continues and abounds despite all of God’s warnings there is nothing for it but the extreme penalty of being let alone. And even that (being let alone) will be inflicted. “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. (Hosea 4:17). Saul had provoked it when “God answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” Israel had provoked it when God said to his servant, “Thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover” (Ezekiel 3:26).

“Then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients” Ezekiel 7:26.Sad indeed the day God is silent.

If the knowledge of God himself be withheld, there is for man no solution of all the mysteries of the universe, the mysteries of his being. Why am I here? What is my end? Is there any purpose in life?

WORD OF GOD IS TO THE SOUL AS BREAD AND WATER TO THE BODY:

Amos 8:11. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12.They shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."

There is a famine of the Word on Israel still. “Blindness in part has happened” (Romans 11:25) to them, in that, “when Moses is read, the veil is on their heart.” (2 Corinthians 3:15). This practically amounts to the removal of the Word. It is a sealed book to them — sealed by their blindness to its spiritual sense. Not even heathen ignorance is more effectually cut off from the knowledge of the truth than Jewish prejudice and hate. It rests on them for the same reason for which it came. Persistently, blindly, bitterly, they rejected the truth of the gospel. They made it evident that they would not have it. And so sadly, reluctantly, but sternly, it was taken from them. “Lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). When that Word was spoken, Israel was left to the darkness it loved. In that chosen darkness they still grope, and will till the latter-day glory dawns.

HOW THIS PROPHECY APPLIES TO US: There are many blessings which are not suitably valued until they are withdrawn and missed. It is so with bodily health, with political liberty, with domestic happiness. And the prophet assumes that it will be found the same with the Word of God. When it is possessed -- when the Scriptures are read and the Gospel is heard, it is too often the case that the privilege is unappreciated. But what must it be to be shut off from all communication with Heaven? When God is silent?

Food and drink are a necessity to health and even to life; to be even partially starved is to be disabled and to be rendered wretched. Even so, the truth, the righteousness, and the love of God, through His Words, are necessary for the aliments of the spiritual nature. Fellowship with God by his Word is indispensably necessary in order that a high, holy, and acceptable service may be rendered. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

The greatest disease of human nature is a lack of appetite for communication with God: It is not because God is withholding the Truth of His Word, but people do not want the Truth preached, because they do not have A LOVE OF THE TRUTH.

SOUL FAMINE:

2 Thessalonians 2:10b. “Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12a. That they all might be damned.”

Which is the greater lack of the body — the lack of food, or the lack of appetite for food? The latter, I believe, for the latter implies disease. It is so with the soul. The vast majority of souls have lost the appetite for the Divine Word. They are perishing, shrivelling up, for the lack of it. The desire is gone. We could call it SPIRITUAL ANOREXIA. They die, not for the lack of the food, but for the lack of appetite. As a rule, the starvation of souls is not for the lack of food, but for the lack of appetite for God’s Word. Paul says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4). The worst thing of this disease is, men are not conscious of it,it works the worst ruin.

THE GREATEST MISERY OF HUMAN NATURE IS A QUICKENED APPETITE AND NO SUPPLIES: God has not said that in the New Testament era that He would send a famine of hearing of His Word. But we do know that for a period of 1200 years, which we call the dark ages, the Word of God was hid, not by Him, but by false religions, and by the workings of Satan. The Word of God was repressed and hidden by the false church. The Bible was only in the hands of false church leaders and written in a language, Latin, that the average person could not read. After these many years of suppression the Bible was once again written in the language of the common people by men God used, like Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and others and the Reformation of Christianity began.

The danger that we in the New Testament era face is brought about by our own lack of reading, studying, and especially a desire to know more about the Word of God. Of course Satan would try to put other things like, doubt of the authenticity of the Bible in our minds.

David conquered the temptation to share in the general cowardice, before he conquered Goliath, and perhaps the former fight was the worse of the two.

VICTORY OF UNARMED FAITH:

1 Samuel 17:50. “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; there was no sword in the hand of David.”

The two armies, Israel and Philistine, lay looking at each other across the valley, with occasional skirmishes; and for forty days Goliath paraded on his own side of the gulley, shouting out his taunts and challenge with a voice like a bull. Many a similar scene in classical and mediaeval warfare confirms the truth of the picture, so unlike modern battles. The story is, for all time, the example of the victory of unarmed faith over the world’s utmost might. It is part of the history of the Church and the type of all battles for God. The youthful warrior leaps into the arena, and overcomes, not because of his own strength, but because he trusts in God.

Goliath is not to be encountered with sword and amour which is, after all, but a shabby copy of the tons of brass which he wears, but he does not know what to make of the sling, and does not see the stone till it crashes his skull in. The five smooth stones have become the symbol of the insignificant means, in the world’s estimate, which God uses in faithful hands to slay the giants of evil. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God.” Faith unarmed is armed with more than triple steel, and a sling in its hand is more fatal than a sword.

Goliath was a walking arsenal, and David took count of his weapons as they clanked and flashed. It is no part of faith’s triumph to ignore the number and sharpness of the enemy’s arms. But faith sees them all, and keeps un-terrified and un-ashamed of the poor leather sling and smooth stones. The un-armed hand which grasps God’s hand should never tremble; and he who can say ‘I come in the name of the Lord of hosts,’ has no need to be afraid of an army of Goliaths, though each bristled with swords and spears like a porcupine. The great name, on which David’s faith rested, ‘the Lord of hosts,’ appears to have sprung into use in this epoch, and to have been one precious fruit of its many wars. Israel of that day will be a symbol till the end of time of the true equipment, the true temper, the certain victory, of all who, in the name of the Lord of hosts, go forth in their weakness against the giants of ignorance, vice, and sin. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

In the next few days we want to learn how to keep stress from destroying our lives.

HOW TO DEAL WITH STRESS:

2 Corinthians 4:8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

Those are the words of a man who is confident that he is in the middle of God’s will. He is not being beaten and battered by life; he is not giving up in despair. He is facing the outward circumstances of his life because of an inner man that has been strengthened by years of walking with the Lord. Paul was totally content to remain on earth or go be with the Lord (Philippians 1:23-24). He was anxious about nothing. He knew that life would buffet him, and all believers, but he also knew that he did not have to be defeated by life’s storms. Paul’s secret to staying on course in life was to renew the inward man day by day in spite of the fact that the outward man was perishing.

Some people try to insulate themselves from the problems and pressures of life as a way to avoid stress; they just don’t want to get involved. But then they get stressed over how to protect themselves. The Apostle Paul had a more effective way that will work today as it did for him: NURTURE THE INWARD MAN. God has a plan for us to grow so strong on the inside that when things occur on the outside of our life we are not shaken. It is far better to prepare ahead of time since we know that the storms of life will come against us in one way or another. We cannot control what sort of trouble knocks at our door, but we can control how strong and confident we are in opening the door.

Paul survived the stress of life as he lived it for one simple reason: He lived his life from the inside out, not from the outside in. There was a strong inner core at the center of his life, and when he was beaten, robbed, stoned, even killed, his inner life continued to live. Many times we are overwhelmed by external things which come against us because we have not taken sufficient steps to keep the inward man strong.

When we speak of the inner man we refer to the center of man, the spiritual man; it is where the Holy Ghost resides in us. This is the part of man that is the key to his strength. It’s the part we need to feed in the proper way.

If we are honest we will admit that we struggle to keep the inner man built up. We want to look at some of the ways we can do this and to help alleviate the stress in our life.

WE GAIN STRENGTH FOR OUR DAILY BATTLES THROUGH GOD’S WORD

2 Corinthians 4:16. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

Ephesians 6:10. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

We ask, how can we strengthen the inner man? WE DO THIS BY READING THE WORD OF GOD. We strengthen the inner man by feeding on the Word of God. We first have to know the information contained in the Bible. There is no substitute for reading the Bible for ourselves regularly, all through our lives, and also by studying the Word of God. Studying is more intense than just reading. We need to understand the Word of God, explore it to understand it, ask question about it.

Memorize the Word of God. Commit the Word of God to memory. Memorizing the scripture is almost a lost art in this present generation. Many have said that it was a verse of Scripture they had memorized that came to their mind during a difficult experience that a provided a basis for strength and hope. We can meet life’s stress by meditating on the Word of God. Psalms 1:2 “His delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Think about it roll it over and over in your mind until it has become a part of your understanding and practice. A good way to go to sleep is by meditating on a Bible verse you have read.

The Word of God is our weapon we have to fight against the things that rise up against us. Paul says, “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” (Ephesians 6:17). Another writer says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Let us feed our inner man, our soul, on a daily portion of God’s word, it will quieten our nerves and calm our spirit. David said, “Thy word is a lamp unto feet and a light in my pathway.” It shows us the way we should go and the places to stop at. Cultivate a desire to read and study the word of God in order to feed the inner man.